Laying Within
by Roots and Wings
Summary: Anakin’s soul lays a prisoner inside his own body, oppressed by Darth Vader, and desperate to reach out to those he loves. On Hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

**Part 1: Pleasant Reunions **

He had watched it happen. He had felt his lightsaber snap in his hand when it activated, had heard its familiar hiss and buzzing as clear at it ever was before. He remembered the helplessness, the desperation to stop. But he only watched. He heard the innumerable screams of fear, the cries for help, the pleas for mercy, all echoing in his ears like nails on a chalkboard. He saw lasers fired from all directions, hit their targets, then these fall lifeless on the floor. He felt the Force growing dark and opaque, felt the panic and chaos, the death and extinguishment of all light around him.

His whole world, all that he had known was slowly collapsing before his very eyes. And he just watched as it happened. That was all he could do. Simply watch as his life was torn apart bit by bit, by himself. 

He had tried to stop. With all of his might, he truly did try. But he wouldn't yield, not even to himself. It was a loosing battle, which he couldn't win from the position he was in.

How could there have been so much rage within him? How could he have let that Monster unleash it all? How could he have lost control over himself so completely?

But he knew how all too well. He had been loosing himself for years; but it was now that the Sith had found the opportunity to awaken the lost him. It was now that the poison from that Monster's words and the anger gathered in his soul reached there pinnacles and exploded; pushing what good judgment he had left to the farthest back of his conscious.

And now, here he was, watching as He annihilated their cherished world and life. Here, in this inferno of a planet, Mustafar, looking out into an ocean of fire, minutes after slaughtering the enemies of his new master's Empire, once the Republic he had sworn to defend. The Republic that he had helped destroy.

_"Are you done now, then?"_ asked Anakin.

Vader grinned at his other self's question. _"Of course I'm not done."_

_"Who else could there be left for you to murder?"_ continued Anakin. _"The Jedi are destroyed and the Separatists are dead. Who else is there?" _

_"All who oppose our Master,"_ answered Vader, as if saying why the sky is blue to a child. _"I'm quite sure there will be a number of them for us to deal with."_

Anakin felt his face go hot, hotter than it would be in a planet like Mustafar. _"How many lives are you willing to end before you're pleased?! How much of this purge could you want?!"_

"_All that are necessary"_, said the new Sith, making the mind equivalent of a push on Anakin to silence him. _"And why do you want to talk to me now? You have been quiet ever since the Temple - ...Well, well. Look who decided to drop for a visit..." _

Anakin raised his gaze to the sky as Padme's sleek Naboo Skiff crossed over toward the landing platform. His heart would have skipped a few beats had he still control over it. _"Padme, no..."_

Vader snickered at Anakin's reaction to their wife's arrival. Padme's ship landed softly on the platform and the ramp lowered a few seconds after. _"I might as well welcome her here to Hell." _

_"Stay away from her!"_

Vader pushed him back again with annoyance. _"Stop your babbling. I'm rather starting to miss the quiet you."_

Senator Padme Amidala walked down the ramp of her ship and looked towards the Main Control building, searching for any trace of her husband. She saw him dashing to the landing platform from the building's outer walkway. The mother-to-be ran into his open arms and wrapped her own around his back.

"Padme, I saw your ship" whispered Vader, holding her tightly against him.

Padme pressed her face into her husband's chest. "Oh, Anakin." 

"It's alright, you're safe now" Vader assured her tenderly.

Anakin pressed himself to the edge of their mind furiously. _"Let go of her!"_ he roared. _"Padme, it's not me!!" _

_"Be quiet,"_ ordered the Sith, ramming Anakin back. He held Padme back by her arms. "What are you doing out here?" he asked her.

"I was so worried about you" she said, looking up into his restored cerulean eyes. "Obi-wan told me terrible things."

Anakin rose up at the mention of his master's name. _"He knows..."_ thought the Jedi, his hopes rising again.

Vader continued to push his other self back. "What things?" he asked, trying to stay stolid in front of Padme. Obi-wan was supposed to be dead. The clone troopers should have killed him on Utapau. How could his old master still be alive? What had he told his wife?

Padme seemed to be considering what to answer him. "He said you have turned to the dark side" she said, her voice uncertain. "That you killed younglings." 

_"He knows!! Padme, it's all true! You have to believe him!"_ cried Anakin desperately to death ears. Padme would never hear his screams.

Vader was silent for a moment, numb struck that Obi-wan had found out what he had done. "Obi-wan is trying to turn you against me" assured the new Sith, regaining thought outside of that of Obi-wan knowing what had transpired.

"He cares about us" said Padme.

"Us?!"

She nodded. "He knows...He wants to help you."

Vader stared at Padme, anger starting to build up inside of him again. Who did Kenobi think he was?! He didn't need nor want anyone's help, and most especially not a Jedi's. Either way, Obi-wan wouldn't help him; he would help Anakin retake their body. He wouldn't allow that to ever happen.

"What does Obi-wan think he can do?" asked the Sith.

_"He will stop you,"_ said Anakin from the back of their mind. _"If I can't, then he will."_

"Is Obi-Wan going to protect you?" Vader asked Padme, letting go of her. "He can't...he can't help you. He's not strong enough."

Padme moved closer to him. "Anakin, all I want is your love."

"Love won't save you, Padme" declared the dark lord. "Only my new powers can do that."

"At what cost?" cried his wife. "You are a good person. Don't do this."

"I won't lose you the way I lost my mother!" said Vader, trying to convince her. "I've become more powerful than any Jedi has ever dreamed of, and I've done it for you. To protect you."

_"Killing everyone that crosses our path won't save her,"_ stated Anakin. "_Palpatine won't help us. Why would he?"_

_"He promised us!"_ snarled his captor, pinning him back. Anakin struggled, but couldn't free himself from Vader's hold.

"Come away with me. Help me raise our child. Leave everything else behind while we still can" pleaded Padme, holding her threatening tears back.

Vader took her by the arms and held her tight. "Don't you see? We don't have to run away anymore. I have brought peace to the Republic. I am more powerful than the Chancellor. I can overthrow him, and together you and I can rule the galaxy. Make things the way we want them to be." 

Padme moved away from her husband's hold. She stepped back away from him, tear now flowing freely from her eyes. "I don't believe what I'm hearing" she said, breathing hard. "Obi-Wan was right. You've changed."

Anakin fought against Vader's restrain. _"Padme, I swear I haven't! I'm still here!"_ The Sith silenced him, pinning him deeper.

"I don't want to hear any more about Obi-Wan" he ordered her viciously. "The Jedi turned against me. Don't _you_ turn against me."

Padme's face was distorted with grief. "I don't know you anymore. Anakin, you're breaking my heart" she croaked, shaking her head in denial of what was happening. "I'll never stop loving you, but you are going down a path I can't follow."

Anakin would have given anything to be able to cry as well. How could he have done this to his Padme? How could he have ever caused her such pain? _"Angel..."_

_"Silence!!!"_ Vader crushed him back into the depths of their conscious. "Because of Obi-Wan?" he asked Padme, his voice tense from the erupting anger beneath his shell.

"Because of what you've done!" she answered, almost yelling. "What you plan to do. Stop, stop now. Come back! I love you!"

Anakin watched his Angel breaking down in grief. Grief caused by him. _"Let me talk to her,"_ he pleaded; begged his oppressor. That's all he wanted. To hold her in his arms, to kiss her soft lips, to smell the rosy sent of her smooth hair, just for a moment. _"Just let me talk to her..."_

Vader ignored Anakin's pleas and stared into Padme's cocoa colored eyes with intensity. He wouldn't stop now. He wouldn't come back from what he had reached. He wouldn't return the power he now held at his fingertips. And he wouldn't let her go back either.

He was about to speak when he saw a familiar figure looking down on them from the top of the ramp. His old master, Obi-wan Kenobi, stood in the doorway of the cruiser. He had come with Padme. His wife had lead the Jedi to him. 

"LIAR!" roared the Sith lord, walking around Padme to stand before his former partner and new enemy.

Anakin saw his friend from his entrapment. _"Obi-wan!"_

"No!" cried Padme, turning from Obi-wan back to her husband, her eyes wide open in fear.

"You're with him" said Vader. "You've betrayed me! You brought him here to kill me!"

Padme shook her head. "NO! Anakin. I swear...I..."

She could say no more before Vader reached out his arm at her and started choking her. Padme grabbed her throat as she fought for air.

"A-Anakin..." she shrieked weakly, her eyes darted on his enraged face.

_"NO!!! LET GO OF HER!!!"_ yelled Anakin, struggling against Vader's holding restrain in desperation. The force bounding him to the pits of his mind strengthened beyond his power to repel. There was nothing he could do. He was helpless to free himself, helpless to protect Padme. Helpless to do anything but watch as his life was choked by his own hand. _"LEAVE HER ALONE! LEAVE HER ALONE!!!"_

Obi-wan moved down from the cruiser's ramp towards his former Padawan. "Let her go, Anakin."

Vader shifted his sight from Padme to the new arrival, a burning hate radiating from his pupils. "What have you and she been up to?" he asked Obi-wan. 

Obi-wan moved around him in long steps. "Let her go!" he ordered again.

_"LET HER GO!!"_ repeated Anakin, louder and more commanding.

Vader finally released his grip on Padme's throat, and her unconscious form crumbled to the ground. 

Anakin stared incoherent at the two. _"What have you done?" _he murmured.

_"She betrayed us!"_ answered Vader. _"She brought Obi-wan here to kill us!"_

_"What have you done?!"_ cried Anakin again. He felt his heart pump heat from his blood. He had just done the unthinkable in his life! _"You hurt her... You hurt her!"_

"You turned her against me!" yelled the Sith, watching Obi-wan walk around him.

The older man stood in denial. "You have done that yourself." he said simply.

Anakin looked on from the dark lord's eyes as the two warriors began to circle each other. He found himself petrified at the fight that would ensue between them. Its result would mean his fate, to be a prisoner in his own body for the rest of his days, or to die here. He hadn't high hopes for either of those two.

_"Don't fight him,"_ he begged his other self. _"Please, don't fight him. He can help us. We can trust him."_

Vader ignored Anakin's words. He could only think of fighting for the right to Padme. Obi-wan had turned her against him. He had turned the one person he cherished more than anything in existence against him. Nothing would stop him from fighting his old teacher. The decrepit Jedi would pay for what he had done to him.

"You will not take her from me!" he declared, pulling his cloak off and throwing it back.

"Your anger, and your lust for power," answered Obi-wan, taking off his own cloak, "have already done that." And he tossed his cloak away.

They both kept circling the other as Obi-wan continued, "You have allowed this Dark Lord to twist your mind until now...until now you have become the very thing you swore to destroy." 

"Don't lecture me, Obi-Wan" said the dark lord.

They stopped the circle when Obi-wan had reached Padme's side. He knelt down by her and placed his hand on her to check she was alright. Her life force was still radiating, and her pulse steadying. She would be okay as far as he could tell.

"I see through the lies of the Jedi. I do not fear the dark side as you do" continued Vader. "I have brought peace, justice, freedom, and security to my new Empire."

Obi-wan rose again and moved away from Padme. He couldn't believe what Anakin thought. "_Your_ new Empire?" he asked.

Vader didn't reply. He stared piercingly at his former master, and best friend. It would be his Empire. Sooner or later he would take it from Sidious, when the time was right. Nothing would stop him from claiming his new destiny; not even Obi-wan. 

"Don't make me kill you" hissed the dark lord deeply. 

Obi-wan felt his Padawan's words like a stab to the chest, but he continued with forced steadiness in his voice. "Anakin, my allegiance is to the Republic…to democracy!"

Vader didn't care for the galaxy's useless democracy any longer. It could only bring corruption and chaos. He had known that since before he became Sith.

"If you're not with me," he said, taking his lightsaber in his hand, "you're my enemy."

_"He's our Master! How can you call him Enemy?"_ cried Anakin, to again be ignored by his oppressor. _"Don't fight him, please!" _

Vader shoved him away like nothing, and waited for Kenobi to reply.

Obi-wan couldn't find anything else to say. Master Yoda had been right. There was no way to reach out to him. It was too late; his friend was lost.

"Only a Sith Lord deals in absolutes" he said, struggling to keep his tears unshed. He reach to grab his weapon and stopped, facing his adversary. "I will do what I must."

Anakin's heart sunk to the depth of despair as he watched Obi-wan's lightsaber ignite and point towards him. The only father he had ever known was about to meet his blade. The one person he had thought could save him was ready to kill him. Why couldn't he sense him? He was still here. How could he not see him?

"Obi-wan, no... I'm... still here..."

Vader couldn't care less. Part of him had hoped Obi-wan would see the logic in all he had done. He'd hoped his friend would join him, just like he hoped Padme would. But Obi-wan proved to be just like all the other Jedi, corrupt arrogant; a fading gleam in the shadows. He would do what he must, would he?

"You will try."


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2: Outer and Inner Battles**

Before he could say anything to stop him, Anakin's other self was flipping back through the air towards the Jedi Master. Obi-wan blocked Vader's swing, and stepped back as the dark lord delivered blow after blow, blocking them all skillfully. They twisted and turned in a dance of lights and slashes, moving closer and closer to the edge of the platform with each step. Obi-wan found himself a foot away from falling down into the river of lava, but he held back another strike and twirled around Anakin to move farther from the edge. Vader kicked his adversary square in the chest, and Obi-wan back flipped away. Once he landed, Vader lashed at him again and they parried, slowly making their way into the Control Center building.

Vader could hear Anakin's cries and screams, unendingly begging him to stop. He shoved him back every time, but the Jedi in him kept coming back, pressing himself to the edge of their mind, trying to set himself free from his grip. The dark lord ignored Anakin's incessant pleading. He wouldn't stop. Not now that he at last had the opportunity to kill the man that had never wanted to train him, that held him back and kept the power to save his mother from him, that had always been one step ahead of him, and now had turned Padme against him. He would never stop. Not until Obi-wan Kenobi was dead, sprawling on the ground before him.

As their lightsabers slashed through the air, parts of the hallway they passed were cut off the walls as sparks flew around them. The duelists made their way into the Conference Room, parrying around the bodies Vader had killed minutes before. Obi-wan jumped up on the table in the center of the room.

"Don't make me destroy you, Master" said Vader. "You're no match for the dark side."

"I've heard that before, Anakin," answered Obi-wan, "but I never thought I'd hear it from you."

_"It's not me, Obi-wan!!"_ cried Anakin from him prison, though he knew his friend would never hear him.

In a swift move, Vader jumped onto the table, and grabbed hold of Obi-wan's throat attempting to choke him, but Obi-wan kicked him from behind, throwing him forward. They both got to their feet and resumed parrying.

Vader forced Obi-wan down a narrow balcony outside the Conference Room. He ripped objects off the wall and threw them at his enemy with the Force as he pushes him further and further along the walkway. Soon the balcony ended, and Obi-wan found himself trapped between Anakin and the wall. He looked over the balcony and into a river of lava.

Vader cut pieces of the balcony railing off, along with a control panel while trying to hit his former master. Alarms sounded off around them, and a protective ray shield around the superstructure disappeared. It tumbled into the molten abyss, disappearing in a puff of smoke. A small pipe connected the Control Center building to the Main Collection Plant. Obi-wan had no choice but to tightrope-walk over it across the lava river. Vader jumped after him and followed him down the flexible pipe, fighting all the way until they reached the Collection Plant. Then they jumped down to a catwalk bellow leading down to a collection cluster

The volcano around them seemed to flow with the rage of the duel. The lava shot up around them in eventual sprays; and one of these splashed over the catwalk they were fighting over. The two looked back to see the connection between the catwalk and the building melting away with the fire. They bolted to the other side to avoid being consumed by a second explosion. Both ran for cover under the collection cluster. They continued to fight in the lava rain, darting from cover to attack, then quickly retreating to cover again. The support for the entire structure began to fall away, and the collection cluster fell into the lava river. The Jedi and Sith continued their fight, climbing to the highest point on the tower as the rest began to melt away as it rode the swift current down the river. But none of this ceased the duel. 

Vader's lightsaber lashed up for Obi-wan. The Jedi parried down, while the tower they were hanging on to flowed with the lava's current and towards a fall. They climbed up, both searching for a way to escape. Obi-wan grabbed a cable and swung off the tower. Vader found another and did the same. Their weapons met when they swung past each other. Obi-wan looked around and saw a small floating platform making its way toward the falling tower. It was his only hope. He did a hack-flip and landed, squarely on the floating platform. Immediately, he leaned to one side and moved away from the tower.

Vader was still hanging from the cable attached to the falling tower.

_"Look where you've taken us!"_ Anakin yelled at Vader.

_"Shut up so I can save us!"_ ordered the dark lord, pushing his load aside.

Looking desperately for a way off, Vader saw some construction droids down over the river. They were a pretty far. He wasn't certain he could make the jump. But finding it his only choice, he swung back to the tower, climbed up to the top and made a running leap, miraculously landing on a worker droid. A moment later the giant collector went over the lava flow and disappears in the mist of sparks below. 

_"This will only get us all killed. Stop now while we still can!"_ Anakin begged Vader for the thousandth time in the last five minutes.

Vader shoved and pinned him against the back of his mind with fury. _"I won't stop...until he's in pieces!"_

_"He doesn't want to fight you!" _

"See if it matters to me."

Vader's droid floated forward to catch up with the platform Obi-wan stood on. The dark lord stroke over the older man. Obi-wan deflected the blow and they parried again, keeping balance over the fire. Vader's droid moved around Obi-wan's platform as they fought. They were getting tired, they could both see it in the other's face. It was now a battle to exhaust the other first.

Obi-wan's platform moved away from the droid, forcing Vader to separate. Obi-wan breathed deep and held his weapon up, looking into Anakin's eyes. The usual crystalline cerulean was now replaced by an intense sulfur yellow. The yellow Obi-wan had seen before only on Sith's eyes. The Jedi Master let out a sigh, which would have been a sob had he not been standing in front of his Padawan. He felt his heart pump with anguish as he gazed upon the beast his best friend, his brother had become. Tiny tears were flowing down his cheeks, which he hoped Anakin would confuse for sweat.

How could he had not seen any of this happening? Anakin couldn't have changed so drastically from one day to another. He should have sensed something amiss from the beginning. But he had probably been so consumed by the unending war that he'd had no mind left for his partner's inner crisis. Hadn't that been his duty as Anakin's master? To protect, teach and guide him through anything?

"I have failed you, Anakin. I have failed you" said Obi-wan, with the dread of two lifetimes flowing through his heart.

Anakin listened, wanting nothing more than to reach out and wrap his arms around his Master. He was feeling everything passing in Obi-wan's heart. He could still touch his true Master's mind it through the bond they had shared ever since he was a boy, but he knew Obi-wan couldn't. All Obi-wan could feel was the empty void of hatred and darkness that was Vader. His Master thought he had failed him, but it was entirely the other way around. Anakin had failed him. He had let a monster to form out of his fear, and allowed it to take possession of him. By letting this happen, he had failed everyone, and everything.

"I should have known the Jedi were plotting to take over" replied Vader.

He still believed the Jedi had betrayed the Republic. "Anakin, Chancellor Palpatine is evil!" yelled Obi-wan.

"From my point of view, the Jedi are evil!"

There was no convincing him. There was no reaching him in any way. As much as it would hurt, Obi-wan saw no other choice than accepting the raw fact. The friend he had known as Anakin Skywalker was truly dead.

"Well, then you are lost!"

He was giving up on him. Anakin slammed himself against Vader's grip franticly. There had to be a way to reach Obi-wan. There just had to be some way! _"OBI-WAN!! I'm here!!! I'm still here!!!"_

Vader pushed him back again. _"He has given up on you"_ the dark lord said, _"You should give up on him. He betrayed us. He cares nothing for us! He never did. Just help me kill him!"_

_"NEVER!!"_

Vader paid no further mind to Anakin. He only had focus for the other Jedi before him. Obi-wan's death would be a fresh relief from his other self's incessant yelling and resistance to his control. He would have to ask Sidious how to silence the Jedi within him permanently, or he would go insane.

Their platforms continued to move parallel up the lava river. Vader and Obi-wan's eyes were lock in each others'.

"This is the end for you, My Master" Vader jawed, his teeth clenched together.

The new Sith stared into his old master's ashy face. His eyes looked beyond defeated already. He couldn't hold him from reaching had he wanted any longer. And what he wanted was to hear Kenobi beg and plea for his pity life.

The next moment, Vader propelled himself with the Force and flew over the lava, onto Obi-wan's platform. The Jedi held his attack back and their spare resumed with no less intensity. Vader was now delivering ending blow after another. This couldn't go on any longer. He needed to finish Obi-wan once and for all now and quick, before he lost balance and fell into the burning river beneath them.

Obi-wan deflected every attack Vader could come up with, but he was loosing energy faster than sweat. This had to end soon. Then he saw a way out of it all, and took it. He jumped off the platform and to the safety of the black sandy edge of the lava river, and turned around to face Vader.

"It's over, Anakin. I have the high ground" he claimed, hoping the younger man would see this as well and yield. There still had to be some way to save him. Perhaps he could find a way to bring him back form the darkness.

But instead, Vader was enraged by Obi-wan's words. How dare he!?

"You underestimate my power!" he rasped.

Obi-wan's widen. Anakin was completely blinded by his hatred. He couldn't even see the full advantage he had gained on the hill. If he jumped he would have to strike. 

"Don't try it" begged the Jedi Master.

Anakin saw his chance now, a way to stop Vader. All he cared about now. His oppressor was fogged by anger. He couldn't see Obi-wan would have a perfect shot at them if he jumped.

_"I've changed my mind"_ he said to Vader. _"You were right. He has never cared for us. I'll help you kill him."_

Vader wasn't prompt, but was shocked. He pinned Anakin back again. _"What are you playing at, Skywalker?"_ he asked.

_"Nothing,"_ answered Anakin, not struggling against Vader's hold_. "I see his lies now. Just let me help you. Together we can beat him. Trust me."_

_"Trust you? Give me one reason why I should trust you."_

_"You know me better than anyone,"_ answered Anakin. _"And if you die; I would die as well."_

Vader considered. Did he really need help for this? Resorting to a Jedi's assistance was beyond shameful. But they would be stronger together, and right then, he wanted nothing more than to feel Kenobi's life slipping out of his body. He would do anything to be the widely famous Negotiator's killer. Perhaps even accept Skywalker's help. And Anakin had just as many reasons to hate their former Master as he did.

_"Very well,"_ said the dark lord, granting half of their body's control over to his other self.

Anakin took grip of his half, and felt his lips twist in a small smile. _"Thank you."_ Then, before Vader knew, Anakin jumped from the platform, following Obi-wan.

Without thinking, Obi-wan raised his lightsaber and in the blink of an eye cut his best friend at the knees and his left arm, without meeting any resistance from Anakin.

Vader's breath escaped his gut. He slammed Anakin to the wake of their mind with rage. _"You..."_ he roared, pinning him back. _"Do you realize what you've done!!?"_

Anakin didn't answer his captor. He simply surrendered to his hold and gave up what control he had left over his body. His plan had worked, that was all that mattered to him. The searing pain didn't matter, dying didn't matter, just that Vader couldn't hurt anyone anymore. He had helped Obi-wan stop him, but his friend would never learn it.

Vader tumbled down the embankment and rolled to a stop near the edge of the lava. His fissured nerves burned up his spine. He struggled to pull himself up the embankment with his mechanical hand, and keep away from the fire below him. His sight went dark; the waves of pain like hell had no power upon coursed through the body. His thin leather glove was being burned off, and he kept sliding down in the black sand.

Obi-wan looked down at the broken man. A world seemed to pass between them. Blinds were lift out of Obi-wan's eyes. All that was between both of them seemed dissipate in an eye's glance, yet to him it was an eternity of thought. All that time spent together to end in such a way made his heart sink and waver in despair. This was his Padawan, his best friend. What he had just done to him, felt like he had just done it to himself. How could Anakin have brought this upon them? 

"You were the Chosen One!" cried the Jedi Master, a string of tears threatening to overwhelm him. "It was said that you would, destroy the Sith, not join them. Bring balance to the Force, not leave it in Darkness."

Keeping his eyes from shedding any of his pain, Obi-wan took one more glance at the little towhead boy he had raised to become a great man. Then, turned from the sight and picked up Anakin's lightsaber from the dark sand. He decided to start walking away, but he found he just couldn't. He couldn't go, and let everything they had achieved together, all the moments he and his Padawan had shared die away with him. Despite the horror to look at Anakin, Obi-wan stopped and turned around.

Vader desperately struggled to keep himself away from the fire. Anakin didn't struggle against his imprisonment any longer. He knew his fate, and wouldn't fight it. As long as Vader came with him, he was relieved to die like this. As long as Obi-wan, Padme and his unborn baby were safe he didn't care what happened to him anymore. The only thing that weighed on him now was the memory of himself he would leave his child. The memory of a ruthless and merciless killer. The memory of the man who destroyed the Jedi Order and brought a tyrant to power of the galaxy, the memory of a Sith Lord. That is what his child would know him for.

Vader had to release him from his pin to keep from slipping, but still Anakin didn't move from the wake of their mind. He could feel all the pain Vader felt, the wildfire spreading through his nerves, but just laid it out. He just hoped to die quickly, but not Vader.

_"YOU FOOL!!"_ he cried, carrying the pain in his voice. _"You will die!!"_

"_As long as you do as well. It's better than laying within myself for the rest of my life!"_ answered Anakin, keeping his voice steady. _"I won't let you hurt anyone else, Darth!"_

Vader left his other self be. He tried to climb up the bank again and met Obi-wan's gaze. That gaze of resentment... How could he? "I HATE YOU!"

That lanced through Obi-wan's already breaking heart. "You were my brother, Anakin. I loved you," he said, crying freely now. What was the point in holding his tears back? If he had shed them before, perhaps Anakin would have known. But it was too late to shed them now.

Anakin heard those words. Words he had dreamed of hearing for so long. He let out a sob, both of relief and despair. _"I...love-you too, Ma-Master,"_ he rasped, wishing nothing else that Obi-wan could hear. _"A-Always...have."_

_"H-How...d-dare-you!!?"_ yelled Vader, without the strength to push Anakin back. _"L...Look-at...what he-he's...done-to us!!"_

_"Y-You...You've-done this...yourself."_

Vader couldn't hold on any longer. They slipped down to the edge and their clothing fell into the lava river and ignited. Then suddenly they burst into flames. Both of them screamed as the fire ripped up their body. Vader tried to get up, but their mechanical hand's circuitry was dying by the fire. The dark lord still fought for his life. Anakin tried to hold him back. He wouldn't allow Vader to live on, he would deliver him to the pits of hell himself if he had to.

Obi-wan looked in horror as his brother was consumed in the fire and desperately struggled to climb up the bank. He had done it. He had destroyed Darth Vader. At what price? He had also destroyed a husband, a father-to-be, a great Jedi Knight, and a good friend. Why had the Force bestowed this over them? Why had it had to be Anakin?

Finally Vader fell, unable to climb anymore. 

_"Y-You...w-will-pay...for th-this..."_ he rasped, to both the Jedi.

Anakin snorted. _"I'll...m-meet-you...in hell."_

Then there was nothing. He could only hope Obi-wan would protect his family. That his beloved Padme would escape his nightmares. That his child would grow to become a greater Jedi that he ever was. And that the galaxy would find its way out of the darkness he had brought upon it.

Obi-wan couldn't watch any longer. He had done his duty here. So he climbed up the hill and started for Padme's ship.


	3. Chapter 3

**Part 3: Regrouping and Parting **

With every step he took, he felt like he was dragging the mass of the galaxy tied to his ankles. Obi-wan pulled himself up the hillside on his way back to the platform, where Padme's ship waited patiently for his or Anakin's return. No matter how hard he forced himself to clear his thoughts from the sight of his former Padawan's burning body; he just couldn't make the horrifying image go away. It would haunt him forever, in his dreams, in his every memory of Anakin, every time he looked at Padme or her child, the image will just return as clear as the moment it happened, not five minutes before. Nothing he told himself could make him think what he had done was best. How could leaving his brother to die consumed by fire be all he could have done? There must have been a way to save him.

As fast as the dread and exhaustion he was dragging would allow him, Obi-wan reached the crossway from the Control Center to the landing platform where the duel had begun. Artoo had been waiting for either him or Anakin to return by the crossway. Once he saw Obi-wan coming, the astro-droid chirped with curiosity at what had happened, but Obi-wan walked past Artoo and toward Padme's ship. Then Threepio came down the ramp.

"Master Kenobi! We have Miss Padme on board. Please, please hurry. We should leave this dreadful place," said the protocol droid, moving aside so Obi-wan could climb up first.

He paced his way down the soul hallway in the Skiff and entered the medical room, where Padme laid unmoving on one of the beds. Careful not to wake her, he walked over to her side and leaned over her sleeping face. Her features were serene and peaceful, so peaceful Obi-wan wished she didn't ever have to leave the serenity of her dreams. That she wouldn't have to watch as her world cave in around her. As long as she remained asleep, she wouldn't have to face this horrifying reality. She would be safe in her dreams, safe from the pain that would soon devour her once she woke up.

But Obi-wan knew Padme had to wake up and face what's what. She couldn't sleep forever. He moved closer and tenderly laid down his hand on her shoulder. She stirred and her eyes opened to see his gentle face.

"Obi-Wan… Is Anakin all right?" she asked in a weak whisper.

The Jedi Master felt like her words had ripped through his ribcage like a lance, but didn't allow this feeling to show on his face. What could he say to her? Such a simple question he could have heard every day in his life, fifty more years of Jedi training couldn't have prepared him to answer it now. What could he Sith-hell say to her? He could just answer her question in three simple words, "Anakin is dead". Three simple words he never, ever in his worst nightmares had thought he would have to say to anyone. No, he didn't want to say them. Not to Padme, not to Anakin's wife, not to anybody. He shouldn't have to say them. He couldn't say them.

As all this ripped through his mind, Obi-wan managed to keep his face from twisting and a full posture. At least, he hoped he had. If Padme had been able to see anything in his face, her eyes did not stay open long enough for him to see. He brushed her cheek with the back of his hand and she drop back into unconsciousness, away from reality again. He watched her for a few long seconds, sleeping as if nothing had happened, but he finally decided they had to do as Threepio said and leave this dreadful place. With one final look at Padme, Obi-wan left the medical room, leaving Artoo to watch over her.

He moved up the hallway to the cockpit and sat on the co-pilot's seat, thankful that Threepio could fly the ship. He didn't think he should pilot a vessel in the state he felt he was in. Instead he looked down as the Naboo Skiff streaked away from the platform. The collection complex was falling apart. Now that the shield was down there was nothing to protect the structures as the fire ate them away. If this wasn't as close to Hell as any living being could get, then Obi-wan didn't know what could be. It had to be in this fiery inferno that he left the most important person in his life to die and lay eternally. It had to be nowhere else but Hell on the galaxy. But why?

Did one day of evil damn Anakin despite twenty years of goodness? Didn't light prevail over dark? Why couldn't it for Anakin? It should have. There must have been a way to bring his back. Why couldn't he find it? How could he have failed his Padawan so completely, twice?

Obi-wan covered his face with his hand and felt his shoulders shaking. He forced himself to regain posture, to keep the control he felt he was loosing despite his effort. Shame fell upon him, shame for forcing control into himself when it was so plain his soul was breaking. Shame for failing, failing everything in his life; from his Padawan and brother, to his Order and family, his Master and father, and his Galaxy and home. Control felt like a mock, a mock from the universe at his failures. His whole life was based in control, but the only one here was a protocol droid that probably wouldn't even understand what was happening. Finding nothing to stop him, Obi-wan covered his face with his other hand and released the sob that had choked him since he saw the recording at the Temple.

_Anakin…_

Rage…

Fire…

They both coursed through what was left of his body like venom. They forced his heart to beat, prompted his blood to flow, and filled his scorching lungs with air. They tied his mind to his body, leaving no space for anything but more rage. Rage could extinguish the fire by starting another. It was everything that kept him alive now. There was no hope, no fear, no thought, no reason, just Rage, unending, unlimited Rage.

Darth Vader stretched out his mechanical arm, the only arm he had left, and reached up the back. Desperate to move out of the lava river's reach, he gripped the black sand between his fingers and pulled with all the strength he had left. He had no sense of how long he'd been moving up, or how far he'd gotten himself. The time felt like ages, eternities over eternities, but the distance felt like half a fingertip. His body was destroyed, rendered useless by the fire, but he reached up the bank again and pulled.

"_Stop… just—let go,"_ a faint voice pleaded in his head. It was weak, breaking like his body, but it crawled up from its resting place and sounded again, _"It's…over…Let—go."_

The dark lord shunned the voice and stretched out his arm again, pulling his weight another meager distance. Another meager distance, followed by another and then another. White cold fire raged, no longer fear for death was immediate, the rage of betrayal which countless times had destroyed him, rage that bordered on madness now. Images of death flashed through his mind, a vaunted and marred vision of every event, distorted faces of once considered friends and Padme's cries flashed wildly, he wanted to burn it all. He wanted to purge everything. He wanted to crush the life out of Kenobi–

"_Let go!"_

To tear that voice apart! He would live so he could do so. He swore on Everything he had ever had, everything he had ever thought, his rage would not die until Kenobi and Skywalker were torn from existence, until he felt their pain ten fold over his.

Rage…

Fire…

He would see to their demise! He swore again, and again. They would pay for their betrayal! But first he had to save his life. It disgusted him that to live he had to save Anakin's life as well. The Dark Lord reached up again and pulled on the burning sand. His vision was distorted, making all he could see no more than blurs and shadows. But that wouldn't make safety any more unreachable for him than it already was. His metallic hand grasped the dark earth again and made one more heave.

I refuse to be ignored or unheard. I clung to Vader's mind, attempting to be as heavy a burden as I can muster. My persistence doesn't appear to be doing as much effect as his. Vader reaches up again and pulls on our weight, taking us one more distance to survival, as meager as that distance is. I cry out, roar, and yell. I do everything I can think of to pull my captor back down, but I'm just a splinter to him. I am nothing against the dark lord's supremacy over my body. I'm just here, as nothing, just a forgotten emotion of a past life.

If we survive; if Vader survives…there is nothing left I can do. This was my last chance. After what I did, Vader will never let me influence our body again. He would suppress me to the depth of his conscious, secluded from the outside, maybe never to see light again. The Sith would be free to rule the galaxy. Vader would seek out Obi-wan, and Padme, and my baby. Oh, Force, my sweet little baby. What kind of life will he or she lead? One governed by darkness and evil? Surrounded by hatred and fear?

If Vader lives, then his extermination of my life would be complete. What else could he ever take away from me? Already I lost more than I thought I had. My friends are gone, my body is no longer mine to control, my Master, my father, thinks I'm dead, as does my Padme, my darling Angel.

If my life is all I have left, and if it's all I have to sacrifice to destroy Darth Vader, then it is nothing as well.

"_Let go!"_ I cry, and I feel his iron grip fall over me.

"_Silence!"_ he finally speaks, but says no more.

I struggle against his restrain. I push back with all my might, but he is powered by his rage. He's too strong, even now. I' m slammed against the back of my prison, and pinned to the edge. I'm powerless, but he slams me down again.

"_I am sickened with you, Skywalker!"_ he roars, pain more distinct than anger in his voice. _"I will teach you the true meaning of pain!"_

I can see him over me. He holds me down so I can't move. Of course I struggle, but what's the use of any resistance now? He neutralizes me without difficulty, and plasters me on the bottom of our mind with an insuperable hold. There's nothing I can do but stare up at his dark silhouette, tears starting to form on the edges of my eyes. I'm afraid. I'm horrified, and I hate myself because of it. Wasn't I prepared to die for his destruction just a moment ago? Am I more afraid of him than of death itself? How could he have that much power over me? Sulfuric yellow orbs stare back at mine with hate, and the grip around my neck begins to tighten.

"_No…"_ I moan, choking on my own words.

He growls, releasing a wave of fury behind his voice. I hear myself whimpering in horror. How could I let him see my fear of him like this? How could I give him that pleasure? I try to push him back, but he's too heavy over me. I find I can't even move. I don't know if he can kill me like this, but I feel my life escaping from my grip all the same. I don't care for my life. All I have wanted since he conquered my body was to die. Now I will. Freedom awaits me in the Light, and I reach for it.

It is not Vader's choke that's killing me. It's the wounds Obi-wan inflicted on our body. It's the fire that ate away our flesh. It's the oxygen that He can't get anymore. He's dying as well. We're both dying. He knows this as well, but his hold around my throat only worsens.

He screams again, this time in desperation. He can't safe himself any longer. _"You will die!"_

I smile. His hold over me begins to weaken and eventually disappears, but I don't move from my where he left me. _"WE will die,"_ I correct him.

He hasn't stopped screaming. Our mechanical arm finally gives out on him, and we slide back down a small distance. My hope for a quick death went unheard. But as long as it comes I'll be at peace. Even if Vader was the only one to die, how could I live with everything he made me do? How could I face life with so much blood in my palms? How could I ever face Padme again, or Obi-wan after all the pain I caused them? How could I hold my baby when I killed dozens of other babies in the Temple? No, I rather die than face my life as it is. So I welcome the blackness that calls to me. It promises me peace, and that's more than I could ask for now.

Vader's metallic fingers refused to move. His last arm was dead. His only hope of reaching safety was gone. He lusted to reach back into his mind and tare Skywalker into crumbs of pieces, but that feat was beyond his strength too. He couldn't even cry out. There was darkness falling over him, cold, empty darkness. It clawed at him like sharp hooks, trying to get a hold of him. He tried to pull away, but they got sharper, and colder.

More darkness zoomed over from above; this one was warm and intoxicating. It beaconed to him, and he was compelled to cry out for it. He knew this darkness. He knew this warm and powerful touch. It was Palpatine, his Master. He had come for him.

Immediately Vader cried out for the Sith Master, to let him know his location. Then a shadow crawled over the Mustafar earth and moved over him.

The Imperial shuttle flew overhead and made its way to the landing platforms at the top of the embankment. Vader couldn't see, but he felt. A platoon of clone troopers descended from craft's ramp, followed by Darth Sidious.

The newly proclaimed Emperor walked by the embankment, following his apprentice's beacon. He feared the condition in which he would find Lord Vader. Not for his life but the usefulness he might have lost. If the duel with Kenobi had rendered his apprentice handicapped, or useless for that matter, then his utility would be diminished just as much.

Vader cried out for him again. Palpatine turned and saw what was left of him at the bottom of the bank.

"There he is. He's still alive," said the Dark Lord to the troopers accompanying him. Turning to the soldier he said with urgency, "Get a medical capsule, immediately."

"Yes sir. Right away" replied the clone obediently, and walked away to do what he was ordered.

Anakin was unconscious, unaware of Sidious' arrival, much to Vader's relief. He watched his Master descend the embankment towards him, genuine concern on his features. With what strength he had left, he pushed himself over on his back, and then the Emperor reached his side. The numbing effect of his Master's presence soothed Vader, allowing him to close his burning eyes, while Sidious placed his hand over his face. The Master of the Galaxy would look after him. Nothing could hurt him now, not even death.

He would live. He would triumph over death.


	4. Chapter 4

**Part 4: Parallels **

The Force was screaming.

Shutting his eyes against it didn't help. The cries of thousands of lost souls echoed through his mind like voices in a cave. They bawled in fear, pleaded dreadfully, and screamed as their lives were thrust out of their bodies. It was a deluge of destruction, and pain, and death.

Jedi Master Yoda opened his eyes from his meditation stand. There was no solace to be found in the silence and solitude he had sought here, only remorse. A good while would pass before he would touch the Force and not feel its chaos in his head. The old Jedi looked out through the observation dome's glass panes. The tranquil night of Polis Massa was like a galaxy apart from the one he knew, a small space of peace surrounded by the dark veil of evil. He watched a couple of droids working in the gray rocks, and a few lonely ships flying overhead.

The more he looked at the slow moving action outside, the less he paid mind to it. His mind was overcome with his failure. Nothing could keep him from reliving it in his memory every moment. How had it happened? Since when had it all led to these resent occurrences? How had they become as blind as to not see what transpired right in front of their eyes, until it hit them in the face?

The Republic died this day, and he wasn't able to save it. The Jedi Order was destroyed, and he couldn't stop it. The Sith had won at last, it seemed. The dark Empire of the Sith had return in _his_ lifetime, and he failed to stop it.

What fate awaited the galaxy now was unknown to the Jedi Master, but he refused to believe all hope was lost. A time would come when one would rise and fight for the Light side of the Force and ensure a future. One would bring down the Emperor and bring back peace and freedom to the galaxy. He could only hope for a _new_ hope. But until that hope arouse, they would have to wait and watch.

He sensed Obi-wan approaching. The younger Jedi Master had failed as well. He couldn't bring himself to kill his former Padawan, the one he called _brother_. Yoda wondered what consequence this would bring on in the future. He searched into the Force, past the sorrow and chaos, and sensed the wounded Darth Vader. The Sith Lord was extremely weak. Perhaps there was still a chance. Perhaps he wouldn't survive. And even if he did survive, he would only have a fraction of his previous strength. The details of his true condition were unknown to him, but by what he could sense, Vader would sufferer permanent damage to his body.

Next he sensed Senator Bail Organa coming up. The Alderaani senator climbed up the stair to the observation dome with quick steps. He reached the top and stood in the stairwell.

"Excuse me, Master Yoda," he said politely. "Obi-Wan Kenobi has made contact."

There was an overt amount of relief and fresh cheer in the senator's voice. Organa clearly still found a sense of hope in the midst of all that had happened. Yoda turned to face him and nodded. He slid down from his seat and followed after Organa down the steps.

* * *

The Naboo Cruiser skimmed over the cratered surface of the asteroid, Polis Massa. The mirrored craft approached the opening platform and descended until it settled down gently on the base. Yoda and Bail reached the ship's bottom and joined a few ground crewmen as the ramp lowered and Obi-wan emerged, carrying the unconscious Padme in his arms, followed by Artoo and Threepio.

At the sight of his fellow senator's limp form, Organa hurried to meet Obi-wan as he reached the base of the ramp and gazed down at Padme with alarm.

"We'll take her to the medical center, quickly," he said anxiously, and led the group away from the cruiser to the main building.

* * *

Classically, somewhere else in the galaxy, in a cold rainstorm, another craft was settling on its strip, this one carrying a fairly different assemblage. The shuttle landed on the Imperial Rehab Center in Coruscant, and out strode a solemn procession. Four clone troopers encircled a floating medical capsule, in which hovered what remained of the broken, immolated Darth Vader. Behind them followed the seeming brittle Emperor Palpatine, moving promptly after his periled apprentice.

Vader stared up at the gray cloud, ignoring the burning sting the raindrops left on his tarred skin. The sky seemed to mock him. It poured its tears over his scorched body, mourning for a murdered age, like he was all that was left of that age. He shot his eyes closed, and concentrated on the feel of the oxygen mask over his face.

The procession entered the Center, and Vader tapped the still dormant mind of Skywalker, to assure himself the Jedi wasn't awakening any moment soon. Anakin didn't eve stir.

* * *

Padme's motionless form rested on the operation table. The Polis medics were bewildered. They had never seen anything quite like this woman's condition.

Outside of the operating room, Obi-wan and Yoda, along with Senator Organa, watched and waited anxiously as the medics worked on Amidala. Obi-wan pressed his hand to his chin, and tried not to think of anything. Any thought could melt away his bearings and drive his to the ground in sorrow. That, of course, he would not allow; not here, not now. He focused on Padme's swollen belly instead, but found that to be of even more grief. What kind of galaxy would that child be born into, without a home to grow in, without a family to care for him, without a father to protect and raise him?

His life would be one no child should ever have to live, raised by a lonely, heartbroken mother, and surrounded by evil and danger at every turn.

Poor, sweet Padme, what could she be thinking of right at that moment? Obi-wan raised his hand to his forehead and rubbed away his sweat, trying to rub away his grief with it.

One of the medical droids approached them from the operating room, and if a droid was ever able to show lament, then this droid would have been it. Its huge, glowing blue eyes sparkled with something that could have well been mistaken for melancholy.

"Medically, she is completely healthy," it told the group, in a nearly real regretful electronic voice. "For reasons we can't explain, we are losing her."

The droid's words solidified into a cold knot in Obi-wan's throat. His eyes widened in horror as he tried to speak. "She's dying?" he asked, unable to take in such a possibility.

Someone as strong and resolute as Padme, how could someone like her be dying like this?

"We don't know why. She has lost the will to live," the droid tried to explain. It had never computed anything quite like this. A young, healthy human female dying for no medical reason was beyond his capacity to clarify. "We need to operate quickly if we are to save the babies."

Bail was the first to react. "Babies?!"

"She's carrying twins," answered the medical droid.

Silence fell over the small group, each pondering over this new surprise in his own way.

Yoda's eyes widened in shock for a moment, but then the old Jedi lowered his gaze to his feet and mused over their predicament.

_Twins_, thought Obi-wan, _not one, but two! How can this be?_

It wasn't one child that might be orphaned today, but two; two children that would grow in uncertainty and peril. Had Anakin known there were two? If he hadn't, he would never know now.

_Oh, Anakin, how could you? How could you desert to your family this way? _

Obi-wan stepped away from the rest and walked up to the viewing glass. He gazed over Padme and covered his mouth with his hand. Was all this his fault? Was he then one who failed?

Padme wasn't moving. Her faintly raising and falling chest was all that indicated life in her body. She looked so helpless to the Jedi Master, like a completely different woman from the courageous queen he had meet on Naboo all those years ago. That queen had been a warrior; a valiant and noble young girl. But this here was a heartbroken and hopeless woman; weak and dying. Everything around him was shifting.

Everything was fading.

* * *

Hot.

Why was it so hot? What was happening? Nothing in his mind made sense. Nothing around him made sense. There was smoke, and there was noises. Where was he? His skin felt like boiling oil. His body was spent and he heard himself howl in agony.

Anakin heard machines around him. They were droids. What were they doing? He tried to open his eyes to see, but a hidden force held them closed shut. He tried to move, but his body refused to respond to his commands. His shattered prosthetic arm shot up on its own, and shoved one of the droids back violently.

The pain was unbearable. He wanted to scream, but he was hearing himself already screaming, but _he_ wasn't. How could that be? He couldn't think. Everything hurt too much. It was all maddening.

The droid his arm had pushed away came back. It sounded like it was drilling. Anakin felt the needle puncture into the stub of his arm, and he heard himself growl. He felt other burning needles all over his body. His head was thrashing, but he wasn't moving.

What were they doing to him?

Anakin tried to move again, this time with all the might he had left. But, nothing happened. He suddenly felt a force over him. Something was crushing him. He pushed it back, but it came back stronger. A faraway voice was speaking, but Anakin couldn't understand it. The voice came closer, while he struggled with whatever was crushing him. He couldn't breath.

"_Why are—you...back?" _

That voice, it was his own voice. Anakin tried to gasp, he tried to get air, but he couldn't get it.

"_Why are you—back??!!"_

That voice.

_His_ voice!

_He survived, he was still alive! _

_He was still alive!!!_

Vader's eyes finally opened, and Anakin saw where they were, an operation room. The droids were implanting new limbs to their body.

"_You—tried...Skywalker,"_ Vader said in their void of mind, mocking despite the pain he was in. _"And...you fail!"_

Anakin looked from side to side in horror. They were alive! Vader had won! How could he fail?!

The operation continued smoothly. Vader was sedated and stopped thrashing after a moment. Emperor Palpatine watched with interest from outside the room.

Everything went silent, except for Anakin's silent, heartrending screams.

* * *

Padme's face was distorted in pain. Her cheeks and forehead were flaring red by her effort. She whimpered and cried, and Obi-wan held her tiny hand in his. The birthing mother squeezed the Jedi's fingers impulsively. She gasped, looking up at Obi-wan's face.

"Don't give up, Padme," he said, warming her shivering hand with his.

Padme breathed hard and pushed with all her strength, and then the room was filled with the sound of a baby's cries. For a moment, a glimmer of life shined over Padme's face again.

She was a mother. The thought rammed through her mind like a javelin.

"_I just had a baby,"_ she mused, _"I can't believe it. I'm a mother."_

Obi-wan looked back, and saw the droid holding the new born. He turned back to Padme and smiled brightly for her. The new mother's lips twitched, but didn't smile.

"It's a boy," said the droid in Polis.

Padme stared at the babe with a brilliant glow in her eyes. "Luke..." she whispered, like it was a prayer. She reached her hand for her son. Seeing her desire, Obi-wan took the baby boy from the droid with the greatest gentleness and got it closer to his mother. Padme could only offer a weak laugh for Luke, and struggled to touch his forehead.

This was her son, her bay boy. This was a precious result of her and Anakin's love for each other.

"_Oh, Anakin!" _

_This is a happy moment. The happiest moment of my life._

Fresh tears built up in Padme's eyes. Anakin was meant to be there with them. He was meant to be there! But, where was he instead?

Another cry escaped her lips as another contraction began, and she wept. Why had this happened to her? Why was she giving birth to her children without Anakin by her side? This, the moment she had been dreaming of for so long, and she was alone.

The medical droid uttered more instructions in Polis, and Obi-wan stared numbly at the boy in his arms. The baby was a bright beam in the Force. His presence was like flare in a dark room. He shone of purity and light, just like Anakin had when he first met him.

Anakin was supposed to be the one holding that child, not him. He didn't belong there.

Padme screamed again, and again. She was so tired. All she wanted to do was sleep. Another push, with what strength she had left, and again the room was filled with a baby's first cries.

The medical droid brought the second child up to her mother. Obi-wan looked from the new baby to Padme.

"It's a girl," he said, trying to slip joy into his voice.

Padme was out of breath, but she spoke, "...Leia."

Obi-wan smiled. Two new lights in the galaxy had been born, Luke and Leia.


	5. Chapter 5

**Part 5: Played by Fate**

After hours of a drugged sleep, Vader awoke. The air burned his lungs. The light was unbearable, and a crushing sensation tightened around his chest. He felt he was being choked. Instinctively, he tried to raise his hands to his neck, but found that his arms were bound to the operating table.

His arms were bound to the table...

One of his arms was probably just ash in the Mustafar wind by now. The other was a melted scrap of metal, beyond any repair. Both useless because of that treacherous rat, Kenobi. But even so; his arms were bound to the table.

How long had he been unconscious? His skull felt like it was collapsing over his brain.

The droids were still working around him. But what were they doing? They had obviously given him new prosthetic arms. And legs, he noticed suddenly, which were also bound to the table.

The medic droids had rebuilt him completely.

He momentarily wondered what he looked like, but then realized the droids were not finished with him yet. The mechanized medics moved from one side of the room to the other, bringing back types of black garments and fitting his new limbs into them. Soon they had him clad in a sort of full body armor, all black from neck to toe.

A black armor, how poetic.

But it wasn't just armor, he could feel as much. What more was it, then? He decided not to think about it. His head was throbbing and whatever was left of his muscles was smoldering under the black material. He thought he was still on fire.

Kenobi; he would kill him! He would hunt him down like a wolf hunts a rat and rip his throat from his neck with his bare hands. If it was the last thing he did, he would see Obi-wan whimpering at his feet and crying for death. The rotten Jedi cut him down like a piece of meat and fed him to the fire to burn alive. He would full heartedly return the deed, and do the same to him. No, he would do worse, so much worse. Kenobi would suffer like no man had suffered before, or would ever suffer again. He would beg for the flames of hell rather than the hands of his former Padawan. Vader silently vowed to reclaim every last bit of his pain from the Jedi Master. Nothing would stop him from quenching his thirst for vengeance.

All through his line of thought, he felt a growing sense of trepidation and disgust coming from the void of his mind. Seeing his captor's thoughts, Anakin's anger began to boil once more. Vader's mind images were revolting. Anakin's hot fume grew the more the dark lord thought of hurting Obi-wan.

Vader snorted. _"I sense I'm disturbing you, Skywalker, with my silent little dreams?"_ he asked through their void disdainfully.

Anakin did not reply. Instead he took control over his anger, and turned away from the dark lord's gaze, wishing to be swallowed by the emptiness of their mind.

Vader hissed furiously, but left the Jedi retreat this time. There was no use in pursuing him now.

"_You would do well, my brother,"_ he continued threateningly, _"to banish your sympathy for our old master from your head."_

Anakin turned back and stared at him unafraid. _"And_ you_, Darth, would do well to rethink where you're placing your trust and allegiance," _he answered his oppressor.

Vader thought of striking him then, but held himself back. It was the worst time to chastise his other half. _"Just wait, Skywalker,"_ he said, sounding like a parent lecturing to a child, _"Soon, you will come to see just how wrong you are about the Jedi."_

Anakin turned away again, and the procedure continued, unaware of the conflict within the patient. The droids fitted him with the rest of the armor. The air was still heavy to their throat, and as a mechanical arm moved up above his face, Vader understood what the armor was for. The mechanical arm held a mask, in resemblance to a black skull.

Anakin saw it and realized its purpose as well. It was what you keep him and Vader alive, what would tie him to the Sith for the rest of his life, what would become the symbol of his fall from the Light, and what all the galaxy would see instead of his true face. In horror, he watched as the mask descended towards him. He knew once it reached his face, any trace left of him would be lost forever. He would become unrecognizable, faceless, nothing but a memory in the people's mind. Anakin Skywalker would truly die once that mask buried his face beneath it. Panic gripped him.

_Please stop_, he begged the machine holding the mask, _Please don't—_

Vader saw nothing but relief nearing him, nothing but the promise of air to ease his scorched lungs. He only saw survival in the mask. His eyes opened wide, urging the mask to reach him faster. And finally, it fell over his face, sealing tightly.

Then they both heard their first hiss of breath, echoing within the mask.

* * *

Obi-wan held the baby close to him, looking down anxiously at his mother. Padme's breathing was uneven and broken between sobs. He could feel her life slowly slipping away of her body, while he stood by, just watching her.

Padme felt a tear run down her cheek as she looked at the baby in Obi-wan's arms. He had those same eyes, Anakin's beautiful eyes. Luke was his father's tiny mirror image. Looking at her son, she could see her Ani so clearly in him. It was torture not to be able to see her baby without seeing the husband she'd lost just hours before. She wouldn't be capable of raising him the way a child so special as him should be raised. The mother would only bring pain to her son were she to sty with him, and he would her.

Padme closed her eyes and wept some more, wept for the life she was robbed of with her children and the man she so loved. For all her pain, for all her sorrow, she solely blamed that decrepit Palpatine, the evil man who had stolen her beloved from her. But Anakin was not lost. Somehow, she could still feel him in her heart. Beneath all that hate and anger that Palpatine had created, her Anakin was still there. She just knew it in the deepest of her soul.

She locked stares with Obi-wan, and gasped for air to speak.

"Obi-wan," she whispered faintly. Her voice sounded so weak, even to herself. She then knew she wouldn't survive her broken heart. She knew she was dying.

The Jedi leaned over her and listened. _Dear Obi-wan_, she thought, _my dear, old friend. Please, don't give up hope._

Padme gasped again. "There is good in him," she said to him, before gasping once more. "I know...I know there is...still."

Her voice was so sure, so hopeful. Obi-wan just nodded, not knowing how else to respond to that kind hope. All strength left her, and her head slid on its side. With one last lifeless murmur on her lips, Padme's heart finally gave out on the pain she never should have suffered.

Obi-wan stared agape at the unmoving body. How could this be real? Padme was gone. Padme Amidala was gone.

In that instant, Luke wailed desperately, sensing the departure of something important to him. There was the first loss the child felt in his life, of so many more that would come. But this one, thankfully, would not remain with him forever. Time would erase it from his infant mind, along with any other memory of his parents. And that, thought Obi-wan, was best for him and his sister; to forget and live outside of this awful moment.

Obi-wan tried to soothe the crying baby, while he himself felt tear welling up in his eyes.

* * *

Every six seconds. He'd memorized the rhythm already. Every six seconds, the mask released a wisp of pure oxygen in his face, which Vader inhaled hungrily, keeping them both alive. One breath every six seconds, so ten identical breaths every minute, that would be his only existence from then on.

After the mask had sealed around his face, Anakin had let himself go numb in Vader's control, unable to do nothing more. He lay at the bottom of the void, watching as the medical droids finished their labor. And all the while, he felt a cold feeling growing colder in his chest.

Suddenly, he felt his heart freeze, like it was struck by a bolt of lighting. Every inch of him howled in mad agony, like he had never suffered before. Nothing around him was real but the pain, and the fire dying out in his heart. He couldn't even scream or cry out. He couldn't do anything. Feeling half of him was being ripped away mercilessly, he tried to shut his eyes close, but it seemed Vader didn't feel what he felt. The dark lord didn't even notice his distress. The room began to darken, but only to him. Shadows blanketed everything.

He thought he was dying. Perhaps Vader had discovered how to kill him. Desperately, he reached into the Force seeking relief, but it only became worse, and worse still.

"_No, Padme!!!" _

She was dead! He could feel it. She was dead! His vision had come true? What of their child? He reached into the Force again, searching desperately for his child's presence. But there was nothing. Nothing!!! He'd truly lost everything now. He had lost his Padme already, but as long as she was safe—

But she was dead! And the baby? There was nothing. _He_ was nothing. He had nothing left.

"_No, no, No!!!"_

A moment later, he was unconscious.

* * *

"Lord Vader."

His Master's aged and hoarse voice called to him. He opened his eyes, and saw everything was behind in a thick shade of red. He supposed it must've been the mask's visor.

"Can you hear me?" the Emperor continued, sounding truly concerned.

For a moment, Vader wondered if he could even speak inside the mask. His lips were torn, but he answered Sidious.

"Yes, Master."

His voice was mechanical, like the rest of him. He must have a synthesizer. It was a lifeless voice, the voice that would belong to a droid. He never would have imagined a voice like that was his own.

The black claded man looked around the dark room. "Where is Padme?" he continued, slowly turning to face the Sith Master. "Is she safe? Is she alright?"

Palpatine did not reply right away. He thought silently for a moment how to best use the answer. Then decided to tell his appretice just as it was.

Moving closer to the half man, half machine, he answered slowly. "It seems, in your anger, you killed her."

Time stopped for Vader. _Killed her?_ "I—I couldn't have! She was alive! I felt it!"

A low moan emanated from within the mask, a growl sound that couldn't have come from a human being. The dark lord lashed out with everything he felt, and the entire room began to quake. Some of the glass and instruments were crushed by the sheer power radiating from Vader's pain.

_Killed her? How could I—_

The bonds holding him to the operating table were chattered against his vicious strength, and he pulled himself free, groaning and growling like an animal.

_Killed her?!_

She couldn't be dead! She wasn't supposed to die! His vision was not supposed to come true! He was going to save her. But he killed her instead? What about their baby? Had he killed him as well? He killed his own family. He was a monster! A hideous monster!

"**No!!!**"

His screams tore through the Center and through the Force, adding to the screams of the dead on that day.

* * *

The Force was screaming. Obi-wan pressed Luke closer, and shut his senses to it. He would hear no more screaming that day.


End file.
